Mechanical Properties of 3D-Printed Earth-Based Materials Considering Two Printable Soils

Attempts to apply earth materials to three-dimensional (3D) printing were already underway in 2011. However, the construction industry has only recently seen a proliferation of research on this topic. At present, in addition to enriching the printable earth materials, the corresponding mechanical properties also need to be explored to ensure that they meet the construction requirements and optimize the material design. Therefore, two printable earth mixtures based on two types of soils were deposited to figure out the mechanical properties, including compressive and flexural strength and Young’s modulus. More specifically, a comparison was made between cast and printed specimens to assess the extent to which the printing process weakened the strength, and the effect of loading orientation was also studied to show the mechanical anisotropy of the printed specimens.